"One of my priorities in putting together this coaching staff was to find individuals that shared a common philosophy and will be able to instill that philosophy in the players as quickly as possible," said Messier. "In a short tournament, synergy will play an important role with our staff. All three are proven winners, and I am very happy they have committed to the challenge."

DeBoer is in his second season as coach of the Florida Panthers. Moores is a pro scout with the Edmonton Oilers, but previous to that spent nine seasons as an Oilers assistant, most of them working under MacTavish.

"I am really looking forward to working with Peter and Billy in Germany," said MacTavish. "It has been a great season so far for Canadian hockey and we look forward to the challenge of going for gold at the World Championship."

This year's tournament will be held May 7-23 in Cologne and Mannheim, Germany.

Messier will pick his roster following the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.